Diseases & Conditions Blog

Mesothelioma is described as the cancer of the protective sac that is responsible to cover and protect most of the internal organs of the Human Body. In medical words, it can be described as the cancer of the mesothelium. The mesothelium have two layers, one of which cover the internal organs of the body and the other layer which is responsible for the formation of a sac around the first layer. You need to have some mesothelioma information in this regard.

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An epidural abscess is a collection of pus in the space between the skull or spinal bones and the dura mater, which is the outermost of the three meninges, or membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. The pus is usually due to a bacterial infection. As the pus collects it exerts pressure on the nerve tissue. In rare cases, toxins, or harmful chemicals that are produced by bacteria, may cause damage to the dura mater.

What are The Symptoms?

An abscess on the spinal cord can cause loss of muscular power in the legs and numbness of the entire lower part of the body. An abscess in the brain may have the same symptoms as a stroke, causing weakness down one side of the body or difficulty with speech. The onset of stroke like symptoms is seldom rapid; they usually appear gradually over several hours. In addition, you will probably have general symptoms caused by the infection, such as fever, confusion, and perhaps delirium or convulsions.

What are The Risks?

Epidural abscesses are extremely rare, because the infections that used to cause them can now be treated with antibiotics. Such infections include acute infection of the middle ear and sinusitis.

What Should be Done?

If you suspect that you have an abscess, consult your physician, who will probably consider the history of previous infection, and may order diagnostic tests. Among them may be blood tests to identify the invading bacteria, a skull X-ray, and perhaps an electroencephalogram (EEG). Arteriography, a CAT scan of the brain, and an examination of the spinal cord (myelography) may also be required for a diagnosis.

What is The Treatment?

To combat infection, your physician will probably prescribe an antibiotic. In some cases, however, this will not solve the problem, and surgery will be necessary. The surgeon makes an opening in the skull or in the vertebral bone through which pus can be removed. After such an operation, antibiotic treatment is continued. If the original cause of infection is also dealt with, you have a good chance of full recovery.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, which are membranous coverings of the brain and spinal cord. There are three meninges. First, there is the outside membrane, the dura mater, which adheres to your skull. Next is the middle layer, the arachnoid. Finally, there is the innermost membrane, the pia mater, which adheres to the brain. The cause of infection of these membranes is usually an invasion by either bacteria or viruses. There are a number of ways that infection can reach the meninges. For example, infectious agents may spread through the bloodstream from some other part of the body, such as the lungs, where there is an infection. They can also spread to the brain from an infected ear or infected sinuses, through the cavities in the bones of the skull. Or if you have a head injury involving a fractured skull, this provides an easy entry for infection. There are many forms and degrees of meningitis. Much depends on the type of bacterium or virus that causes the disease.

What areThe Symptoms?

Fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, a stiff neck, and photophobia (inability to tolerate bright light) usually develop over the course of a few hours. An occasional additional symptom is a deep red or purplish skin rash. If the infection continues to proceed unchecked, you become drowsy and you may eventually lose consciousness.

The symptoms of meningitis may be less obvious in infants and young children. For a full discussion on the differences, read the article on meningitis in babies and children.

What are The Risks?

Meningitis is an uncommon illness in this country. The most common form, a viral infection, spreads from person to person through the air. It therefore tends to occur in epidemics, as do many viral illnesses, often in winter when people are in close contact in doors. Bacterial meningitis may also occur in epidemics, but sporadic cases of this form are more commonly seen.

The sooner treatment of bacterial meningitis is started, the better the results. Untreated bacterial meningitis may well be fatal. With appropriate treatment, most people recover completely, but a few are left with permanent damage including deafness, blindness, and/or mental deterioration. Babies and elderly people are most in danger of either failing to recover or of being left with lasting residual damage. The reason for this may be that these people have relatively weak powers of resistance.

Viral meningitis tends to be a less severe illness than the bacterial type. In most cases there is full recovery with no after effects.

What Should be Done?

If you or anyone in your family develops symptoms of meningitis, particularly a combination of severe headache, stiff neck, and photophobia, consult your physician without delay. A tentative diagnosis of meningitis can be confirmed by an examination of a sample of cerebrospinal fluid, the liquid that bathes your central nervous system. This sample will be taken in a hospital. If the sample, which is obtained by a lumbar puncture , looks cloudy and contains pus cells, the meninges are probably infected. Further tests of the liquid sample should be able to identify the infectious agent, and this will help your physician to plan treatment aimed at combating the particular organism involved.

What is The Treatment?

You will have to remain in the hospital until the meningeal infection has cleared up. If the infection is bacterial, you will be given large doses of antibiotics, which may be dripped through a tube directly into a vein. This may be necessary for as long as two weeks. Since most viruses are not harmed by antibiotics, these drugs are not generally used for a case of viral meningitis. You can expect to be fully recovered in two to three weeks, depending on the severity of the attack.

While you are in the hospital, you will be made as comfortable as possible. Bed rest in a darkened room, plenty of liquids, and possibly drugs to lower your temperature and ease the pain of headaches will help your body overcome the infection.

What is this Condition?

In arterial occlusive disease, the aorta and its major branches are blocked or become narrowed. This interrupts blood flow, usually to the legs and feet. The disorder may affect the carotid, vertebraL innominate, subclavian, mesenteric, and celiac arteries.

Occlusions may be acute or chronic and often cause severe ischemia, skin ulcers, and gangrene.

Arterial occlusive disease is more common in males than females.

What Causes it?

Arterial occlusive disease is a frequent complication of atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in the arteries). The blockage may develop from internal causes, such as blood clot formation or thrombosis, or external causes, such as injury or fracture. Predisposing factors include smoking; aging; conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or fat levels, and diabetes; and a family history of blood vessel disorders, heart attack, or stroke.

What are its Symptoms?

Arterial occlusive disease may produce a wide variety of signs and symptoms, depending on which arteries are affected. For example, if occlusion occurs in arteries in the leg (such as the femoral artery), the person may may have pale, cool legs and pain in the feet. An important sign of arterial occlusive disease in the femoral artery is intermittent claudication, a pain in the calves upon exertion.

If the person develops an occlusion in the carotid artery, he or she may experience a transient ischemic attack - a sudden, brief episode of sensory and motor impairment, which may lead to a stroke.

How is it Diagnosed?

Diagnosis of arterial occlusive disease is usually based on the person’s history and physical exam. Supportive diagnostic tests include arteriography and an ultrasound scan.

How is it Treated?

Generally, treatment of arterial occlusive disease depends on the cause, location, and size of the obstruction. For people with mild chronic disease, treatment usually consists of eliminating smoking, blood pressure control, and walking exercise. For people with carotid artery occlusion, drug therapy may begin with Persantine and aspirin. For those with intermittent claudication caused by chronic arterial occlusive disease, Trental may improve blood flow through the capillaries.

Acute arterial occlusive disease usually requires sutgery to restore circulation to the affected area.

What can a Person with Arterial Occlusive Disease do?

• Avoid wearing tight clothing .

• Practice proper foot care to prevent infection.

Parkinson’s disease is caused by gradual deterioration in certain nerve centers inside the brain. The centers are those that control movement, particularly semi-automatic movements such as swinging your arms while walking. Deterioration of these nerve centers upsets the delicate balance between two body chemicals, dopamine and acetylcholine, which are essential for controlling the trans­mission of nerve impulses within this part of the nervous system. The resultant lack of control produces the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.Nobody knows what causes the more common forms of the illness. In rare cases the nerve degeneration results from such factors as carbon monoxide poisoning or high levels of certain metals in body tissues. Sometimes Parkinson’s disease is the result of an earlier infection of the brain, such as encephalitis . High doses of certain drugs used in treating psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia sometimes produce the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

What are The Symptoms?

One characteristic symptom is a type of tremor (sometimes incorrectly spoken of as “palsy,” which actually means paralysis). There is an involuntary, rhythmic shaking of the hands, the head, or both, often accompanied by a continuous rubbing together of thumb and forefinger. Such tremors are most severe when the affected part of the body is not consciously in use. Once you begin to consciously move the involved body part the tremor disappears or diminishes. If the disorder worsens, there is a gradual loss of most automatic physical movements such as the natural swinging of the arms that makes walking smooth, or the ability to write legibly or move your mouth and tongue so as to speak clearly. It becomes increasingly difficult to initiate new movements, or to change from one position to another. There is no pain, numbness, or tingling, simply a decreasing ability to move. Falls may be frequent because it is difficult to retain balance while walking. Simple activities such as rising from a chair can become hard to manage. Further symptoms include excessive salivation, abdominal cramps, and sometimes in the later stages of the disease, deterioration of memory and thought processes.

What are The Risks?

Most people who have Parkinson’s disease are elderly or in late middle age. Men are slightly more susceptible than women, and there is some evidence that Parkinson’s disease runs in families. Because the disease does not affect nerves that supply the heart or other vital organs, it is not directly life­threatening. A slowly progressing disability, however, can lead to mental depression.

What Should be Done?

There is no immediate cause for concern if, after age 50, you develop a mild tremor. Many people do so as they grow older. Consult your physician, however, if you have other symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, or if the tremor worsens. Special diagnostic tests are not always necessary. Your doctor may be able to make a diagnosis based on a general physical examination.

What is the Treatment?

Self-help: Encouragement and support from family and friends can be very helpful. Practical changes in the house, for example, bath­rail supports, special banisters along regular routes, and chairs with high arms will help you get around more easily and be more comfortable. Try to exercise regularly, and keep your spirits up by remaining or becoming as engaged in activities as possible.

Professional help: Modern drug treatment can do much to relieve the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, particularly stiffness and immobility. In mild cases drugs are not usually prescribed, because they may have some troublesome side-effects. But your physician will probably want to see you about every six months to observe the progress of your condition. If drug treatment becomes necessary, medications that re-establish the balance of dopamine and acetylcholine within the affected area of the brain are usually prescribed. Some of these drugs tend to make the mouth unpleasantly dry, but that may seem more like a benefit than a side- effect if excessive salivation is a symptom of the disease in your case. New drugs are constantly being developed, but none has yet proved to be completely effective against the tremor that occurs in the disease. If tremors become a serious problem, it is sometimes possible to operate on the portion of the brain that is responsible for the problem, especially in younger people.

What are the Long-Term Prospects?

As yet no treatment has been found that slows down the progression of Parkinson’s disease, but the relief from symptoms that the various treatments give has kept many people with this disease in reasonable health.